chucelli
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Posts posted by chucelli
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Do not cut back on photoperiod, as what you are trying to do is acclimate due to change in intensity. Changing photoperiod will introduce unnecessary change. The best way is as onyx mentioned by lifting the fixture a few inches and lowering it slowly over a couple weeks.
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My nitrates are reading zero with a new Salifert Kit and my phosphates are reading zero with a Hach PO-19 and a Salifert Kit. I am due to change my GFO soon.
Do you have algae?
If so, you have po3 and no3. Test kits for po3 and no3 don't tell you anything except that you have excess nutrients not being consumed.
I don't know of any anemones with brown pigments, so browning as you described would most certainly be related to an increase in zooanthellae. What you are seeing could also just be a perception issue, as bluer light brings out pigments more while whiter/yellower light doesn't, allowing browns to show more. If this helps make you feel better, many reefers swap lighting to find the most appealing color to their eye without any problems. As long as you were within the same wattage for that type of lighting I wouldn't worry about it.
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Your change from 14000K to 10000K resulted in more usable par for the algae inside your anemone, which probably increased in population as a result. If you decrease the amount of po3 and no3 in your water, the anemone will lighten again. As for the hiding, just give it time, don't move it. It will decide when to come out again. In any case, it's nothing to be worried about.
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hmm,
I didn't see that as a personal attack.
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I wonder if this toolbag even knows what he's covered in
GROSS!!!!!
Too funny
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Completely incorrect, sir, and I don't appreciate your negativity.
About the assertion of wind carrying away skimmate...well, the billions (or trillions) of gallons that would be necessary to equate to an ocean-sized skimmer...I just don't believe it. Everything within 100 miles of the coast would be coated in 3" of skimmate in 3 months...
No politics. BB
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I find these threads amusing. I sure disagree with the above assertion!
Nothing natural at all about a skimmer (unless a super being is emptying out a giant collection cup into a giant sewer somewhere...no jokes about NJ please). It's 100% artificial technology.
Fuge: 100% natural.
I'm glad we can amuse you.
I completely respect your disagreement to my above statement. However, this thread would benefit more if readers can see the scientific basis on which a poster makes a claim. You have not stated anything which reinforces your idea that refugiums are 100% natural.
Anyways getting back on topic..
My point is that to support all the added organisms in a refugium, additional maintenance is needed.
Some examples are:
*harvesting of algae
*use of carbon to remove yellowing compounds released by algae
*the use of reverse light cycle to prevent ph dips caused by algae respiration.
*regular replenishing of sand stirrers to prevent sand stagnation, but not so much as to disturb the anaerobic bacteria under.
None of the above are natural BTW.
Therefore, IMO a refugium is not a better way for dealing with the nutrient problem.
The only reason I see for keeping a refugium is the possibility of increasing the pod population or just for kicks (because you enjoy keeping algae/pods/ and stuff).
Why go though all that trouble of breaking all that down if you can just remove it to begin with?
On the reef, corals are brought fresh live foods in daily cycles. Waste are swept away in the same way live foods are brought in. Most of us do not have the luxury of feeding live foods so we make do with dried or frozen. However, any food, be it fresh or frozen, needs to be removed before it decomposes. That's what a skimmer does.
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Angels (not pygmy) will eat them as well.
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Also wanted to add that if "Natural" is what we want, a skimmer is more natural than a refugium in the sense that on a reef, nutrients/food is brought in and swept out by the current before it has a chance to breakdown. A skimmer is the best tool we have to simulate that aspect of the reef. Nothing really gets a chance to sit around and be broken down like they are in a refugium.
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There is nothing natural about the way we keep reef animals, be it corals or fish. Of all the different systems we employ to fight the constant nutrient battle, none replicate what truly happens in the ocean.
The difference between a refugium and a skimmer in the way they handle nutrients is that a skimmer attempts to take them out before they break down, while a refugium contains organisms which break down the nutrients into phosphate and nitrate as end products. A functioning DSB or large amounts of algae can further process the nitrates. Employing a refugium or algae to deal with nutrients adds additional maintenance (maintaining the sandbed with numerous creatures which turn the sand slowly to avoid stagnation and nitrogen sulfate buildup) not to mention what is involved in supporting a large algal population (one of the reasons in which Dr. Adey's system was not able to support sps species IMO). Skimmers where mentioned earlier to possibly remove beneficial trace minerals vital to coral health. While that may be a possibility, algae also consumes trace minerals as they grow, not to mention the chemicals some of them release which hinder coral growth. There are also scientific papers written about the proximity of algae to sps inhibiting calcifying coral growth.
IMO a skimmer is necessary to help keep water closer to natural reef clarity/cleanliness. If what we are talking about are soft coral only reef tanks, then nothing said above really matters. Like ctenophore said "That stuff will grow in drainage ditches given some salt and the right temperature"
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It will never stop growing unless you figure out what's feeding it and limit that.
Everything else including tangs are only temporary solutions..
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I had four in my display before realizing they were extremely unreliable. The mod blew the back impeller seats out and destroyed the maxi-jets. The other two started making clicking noises and after 1 month finally stopped. I called Marc at Algae-Free and he was gracious enough to send some replacement impellers, but I had already lost two maxi-jets.
I now am running two of the replacements he sent me in my sump. I think there is some issue with the washer at the end of the impeller. It gets worn over time and needs to be replaced to create the proper clearance distance for the props.
I agree if you epoxy the maxijet backs to reinforce the impeller seats, it is a very economical Stream substitute. For reliability, I chose to bite the bullet and purchased two 6080s for the display...
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Ive always had open top tanks and never had a problem with lights going out.. My last set up, the lights didnt have a splash gaurd and i never had any problems with that either...
+1
Coralife products are bad. I've had a few personal experiences with their ballasts in the past when I first started reefkeeping.
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they most likely got startled and jumped out like some fish do.
They would not climb out of the water.
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go to Home Depot ASAP and get a few plastic tubs. Empty the contents of your tank completely. It may be possible to find and seal the leak later. However, a leak definitely can not be sealed from the outside.
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If living room aesthetics matter, I would stick with your original plan. Lumenarcs are fugly, unless you plan on retrofiting them into some kind of hood, which would defeat the clean pendant look IMO.
I wouldn't worry about coverage either since not all sps need to be baked at the highest setting all the time. It's nice to have brighter and dimmer areas in a tank as it adds a more natural look and allows you to keep a wider variety of corals happy.
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shouldn't matter about that, just drop a note for him FYI so he can see for himself...
just took your advice.
called and asked to speak with the owner. The woman who answered the phone asked me what this was about. I explained to her what redbugs were and which system the frag came out of. She said she would tell him ASAP. I reiterated the importance of this since the bugs can be spread to customer's systems.
I'm willing to bet that since there is no noticeable deterioration with his corals, he will assume there's not a problem. Redbugs are still a pretty new thing to most people...
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did you let them know about it?
no, I have a feeling the owner will just deny it and tell me off.
Didn't seem like a very friendly fellow.
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get a 6 x 6 mirror and tape it to the outside glass. The dominant most aggressive one will attack it's own image for a couple days. The newcomer will seem irrelevant compared to perceived threat in the mirror. Remove the mirror after a few days and by that time everyone will be more used to each other. That is the method I used when I introduced a smaller yellow tang into a tank ruled by a Scopas. Everyone gets along now. Once in a while they will still bicker, but for the most part, they swim/eat together.
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I just came across this thread..
wanted to give everyone a heads up,
Exotic Aquatics in Baltimore has the bug. I purchased a blue stag frag from them a few weeks ago. Didn't see the bugs until I got it home into my white bucket.
Interceptor did the trick.
Anem Question... what gives?
in General Discussion
you risk stressing your anemone if you keep removing it from the rock or moving it around. It will decide where it wants to be and there's little you can do about it.
IME, BTAs like to attach their foot under rock or in a crevice where they feel safe and can retreat if needed. When it becomes comfortable with its new environment, it will reach out from under and into the light. You just have to give it time.